1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an airbag apparatus that expands when a collision occurs and protects a driver and passengers, in particular, to a curtain airbag apparatus incorporated along the upper edge of an opening of a vehicle.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-251875, filed on Aug. 31, 2004, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
A side curtain airbag apparatus, whose bag is attached along the upper edge of a side window of a vehicle in a folded state, and expands when a lateral collision occurs and protects the heads of a driver and passengers, has been known as a curtain airbag apparatus.
Generally, a bag used in the side curtain airbag apparatus is long-sized to be applied from the flank of the front seat of a vehicle to the flank of the rear seat thereof, and presents a long and band-shaped (or rod-shaped) pattern having flexibility in its folded state.
However, in the side curtain airbag apparatus, since a bag in its folded state is long and has flexibility, there is a fear in that, when a folded bag is attached to the vehicle body along the upper edge of a side window, the airbag may be twisted and be attached to the vehicle body in a twisted state.
For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 3113977 has disclosed a technology by which an airbag in a folded state is bundled by a plurality of pieces of tape with prescribed intervals in the lengthwise direction, a marking is attached to one side of the respective tape, and the airbag is attached to a vehicle body while visually checking the marking so that it faces inside the vehicle interior, wherein twisting of the bag can be prevented.
However, the work of installing an airbag into a vehicle body while visually checking the marking attached to the tape is remarkably cumbersome, and productivity is lowered, and the burden on a worker is increased.